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“Liss!” I growled.
“Okay, okay. Christ! Chill. Anyway, Leon rocked up at his place stoned last night, his mom smelled it on him, and he found himself ban-ish-ed. Fucking Romeo slash Leo style. Fuck, I love that movie. Anyway… blah, blah, blah, every asshole he knows is either hammered or ignoring their cell—that’s you, in case you didn’t realize—so he calls me to give him a ride to his trailer, because people seem to be under the mistaken impression that I’m happy to provide chauffeur services in the middle of the damn night. I'm not, by the way. Then he texts me a half hour later saying one Riley Mason just snuck out of Ren's place and hot-footed it across the trailer park.”
“I didn’t sneak.” I totally snuck. “I opened the door and left.” While Reno was still sleeping.
“Uh-huh,” she mused. “And what were you doing at Reno’s at that hour, my sweet?’
“Uh... studying?” It came out a squeak. And a question. And I was totally incriminating myself.
“Studying? Studying what... his anatomy?” Liss quipped. My eyes slid closed.
“No! Yes,” I conceded, fingers picking at my comforter. “But there was real studying going on, too.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. You two are gonna ace biology with all this studying you’ve been doing.”
“Hey, that’s the first time we’ve... studied in that way since... you know. And we were working on an assignment for Government. It was totally legit. Also, I’m not even taking biology this year,” I tacked on, like a five-year-old.
“Shame. Seems like you’re gonna fail every other class this year. Would have been nice to know at least one would be
a shoo-in.”
“You’re a huge dick,” I muttered.
“Oh, you know what? You never told me... is it big?”
I hung my head. “I’m hanging up, now.”
Laughter boomed from her side. “Hey, before you go…”
“Is it about Reno’s dick?”
“Nope.”
“Then go ahead.”
“In all seriousness, babe, is this a thing, like are you two back on or... what?” Serious Liss asked questions I’d asked myself all night and couldn’t answer. Serious Liss made me question exactly what the hell I was doing and what the eventual consequences would be. And there would be consequences.
“It’s—” I broke off, nibbling my lip. Deep down, I might already know the answer. I also knew I wouldn’t admit it, not to Liss and definitely not to myself. “It’s... friendship. Ish.”
“Ri—” she began. I cut her off. I had to.
“I know, I know… I’m... being careful.”
“Well, I hope you’re protecting yourself from more than just baby Rinos and genital herpes.”
“Oh my God! I can’t believe you just said that!” I muttered into the phone.
She giggled. “But they'd be damn cute Rinos”
“I meant the goddamn herpes, Liss!”
“I know.” She laughed, before the sound faded a little. “And I meant your heart, babe.”
I sighed, the organ in question squeezing in my chest. “I know.”
And God, did I know.
Thirty-Four
